The value of Ether has more than doubled in a short time.
The value of Ether has more than doubled in a short time.
If 2021 was the year of cryptocurrencies, in 2022 we watched their value collapse, and “digital gold” was not protected from inflation. However, it now appears that the bottom numbers have already been seen and recent times have risen again.
As reported by CNBC, the biggest and most famous cryptocurrencies have already shown the example of Ether. On June 19, it was worth less than €900, while at the time of writing it is already €1,800, and on Sunday, August 14, it was at best close to €2,000. Therefore, the growth is over 100 percent in two months.
Bitcoin has also increased in value over the same period of time, but its value development is nowhere near that of Ether. In June, the value of Bitcoin even fell below 17,000 euros, while currently its value is around 22,500 euros. So in two months there is a growth of a good 30 percent.
According to CNBC, ether’s growth is being fueled by the upcoming major upgrade to the ethereum blockchain.
After several delays, the update known as The Merge is coming on September 15th. This is indeed a welcome update as it changes blockchain verification from a proof-of-work mechanism to a proof-of-stake mechanism. Thus, chain verification is no longer based on the amount of computational work done by miners. After the update, the factor of the new block is determined by a random selection and the value of the cryptocurrency held. In other words, mining is no longer just counting for the sake of counting, and so the update significantly reduces the energy consumption of the blockchain.
Energy consumption and the associated non-environmental nature are the biggest problems and sins of the ethereum and bitcoin blockchains, which operate on a proof-of-work mechanism. As the ethereum blockchain moves to a new and less energy-intensive mechanism, it appears more future-proof and more attractive to investors than bitcoin.
However, there are also risks associated with the increase in value, CNBC points out. The value may still drop if the update is delayed further. In addition, it is very possible that many investors will quickly take advantage of the value pain after the update and recoup the gains by selling their holdings.